All Archicad Perpetual Licenses Terminated at the end of 2026

[mthd]

After the end of 2026 we are all required to proceed with a subscription only for Archicad. We will probably be left with last perpetual upgrade version that we have acquired while our SSA/FW contracts are still active ?

There has been an official announcement that has been sugar coated as I see it and put forth for discussions. Maybe hoping to somehow soften the blow for up and coming mandatory subscriptions after 2026 whether we approve of it or not.

Here is a link if you haven’t already read it from the main community page.

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Graphisoft-Insights/Important-update-Next-phase-of-subscription-...

I personally do not approve of this move and feel like I am being coerced to accept it by a process of gradual announcements. I am not interested in changing to other CAD packages but if Graphisoft comes up with more significant improvements after 2026 we are now required to take out a subscription.

How do others feel about this up and coming change that we have no control over ?

[mthd]

An update for those who maybe concerned and who may not yet be informed about it. It appears that in my part of the world at least and probably in others too ? An active AC29 perpetual license contract can be extended to AC30, the last perpetual version. The terms and conditions of that extension have not yet been outlined to me.

We do still have another option to convert to a yearly subscription if we wish to do so. I am told that once you start a project in future newer version like AC31 + and beyond you cannot keep the last version when your subscription ends. You can only keep AC30, the last perpetual version running on your code meter key. For exact details in your part of the world you would need to contact your distributors.

Adios Amigos !

P.S. That also applies to the many women who use BIM too. I am not sure if Amigos has a feminine equivalent as I am not a Spanish speaker. Reference is to the movie “The Three Amigos.” The Amigos, Amigos, Amigos campaign had many women in it, to scare off the the villains lol.😆 

[Lingwisyer]

The extension of the contract to include AC30 should be discounted given virtually all of the recent headline items are not supported on perpetual licences...

[mthd]

I totally agree and that is only fair @Lingwisyer.

[Gabor Szelei]

Could you explain this in more detail? I have an SSA contract, so I get the AC30, but after that I'm done and I'm stuck with this version...

[Lingwisyer]

Many of the big features like all of the "AI" integration and Project Aurora are subscription only. There is not even an addon package for them.

[Funfun Yan]

The so called AI intergration is chicken rib, I don't expect much from GS in terms of AI development. Regarding Aurora, I think that if it doesn't achieve excellent integration with Archicad, then it's just another product of its kind on the market, and it shouldn't require an Archicad subscription to use.

For me stop at AC 30 is not a big deal as long as the win11 can run it.

[Gabor Szelei]

This is also a big problem, but a much bigger problem is that there is no meaningful development in basic things.

Things that would be helpful to us as architects. Modeling, graphic representation, property management, database design, etc...

There are so many things we have been asking for for years, but nothing happens.

We can only achieve many things in a roundabout way, which makes the work very difficult.

Gábor

[mthd]

AC30 is the last perpetual version that we can keep using indefinitely. To use the newer versions we need to get a subscription but when the subscription is ended by us we don’t get to keep the last subscription version of Archicad. Say we stop paying our subscription because we retire at say AC35 for example ? Any work we have done in these newer versions would have to be back saved to AC30 in order to use them as a template for new work with no subscription going forward. Or we just keep paying the yearly subscription fee in order to use the latest software until we do not need it anymore.

[Gabor Szelei]

Thank you, that's exactly how I knew it!

Gábor

[krysmark]

AND... in some US States Registered Architect is legally obligated to maintain active drawings for his/hers projects for a period of 10 years after retirement.

[Branson_003]

I’ve been advised that I will be remaining on AC29 moving forward, as the option to switch over concludes at the end of this month.

Given that my Select agreement is due for renewal at the end of next month, I understand that I’m unable to upgrade to AC30, even if payment is made today.

Considering the current state of AI and the broader industry where efficiencies are increasing and overheads are being reduced, I’m finding it difficult to justify the associated cost increase. In many ways, AI is enabling businesses to operate more leanly, which I would expect to be reflected in more competitive pricing rather than higher costs.

Additionally, the barrier to developing software has reduced significantly. What once took 12–18 months and substantial investment can now often be achieved in a matter of days or weeks at a fraction of the cost. Given this shift, the proposed increase feels out of step with the direction the industry is heading.

[fede0184]

Based on what my reseller told me (Italy), the price, for those switching from the SSA to the yearly subscription,  will be similar to the SSA for the first few years, then it will increase. The problem is that Archicad keeps getting more expensive but doesn’t offer significant improvements. If you need something useful, like a better terrain modeling tool, you have to pay for third-party plugins. They are more interested in AI, which can still be useful, than in improving the features that are actually needed from years

[Laszlo Nagy]

I think I found your profile 😀 : 

https://forum.vectorworks.net/index.php?/profile/22193-_c_/

[_c_]

Yes. They banned me from the Vectorworks forum right there. Before me to be able to say: move on to Archicad! LOL

My last entry : "I worked with Microstation, Allplan, Revit, Vectorworks and am now on Archicad. Ask me which one I would suggest you to invest your money on."

[mthd]

An update for our region: There actually is no option for contact extension for current SSA clients. The only option is to convert to a subscription.

As we should know that In the future when we no longer need the subscription we can fall back to AC30 perpetual after our license is downgraded to AC25 on conversion.

Not good news to me as the conversion price is excessive and I am not sure AC30 will have enough in it to substantiate a conversion ? But then at least we get to keep AC30 as perpetual if we convert that is ? I don’t know what others have decided to do but I am not happy with the new subscription only policy.

[Lingwisyer]

The only people I can think of who would be happy with subscription are those requiring wildly dynamic numbers of keys.

[mthd]

And those who type in add 26% to last years price !

[Branson_003]

Secretly, it would be good to know what the uptake (or downtake) was of the subscription model. I, for one, have not converted to the subscription model and will be using AC29 until it no longer works/runs on a computer or I retire.

[Sharpeyespanda]

⭐⭐⭐I feel like we should request and insist on responsible in the company to put their face from behind the "walls" and engage their clients directly. The promise of "Perpetual license" we all got from Graphisoft is broken by similar defrauding as the MRNA technology was reframed into "Vaccine**" by "legal lingo", from today to tomorrow.  Meaning firstly;

• CEO: Daniel Csillag (appointed February 2024). -come into the open, we need to have a word with ya...

[mthd]

Many disgruntled customers in the future could speak volumes about the direction taken by the head company ? The results will speak for themselves as I can envisage many disgruntled customers stopping at AC29 or AC30 and refuse to do any more work in the newer versions. Where is the value for money in the future versions ? An AI workflow that is not fully developed and needs to be supervised by us humans ? AI can only create more and more problems in fixing the errors in the design tasks it takes on. I wouldn’t employ AI until it has fully proved its value in saving time for us.

I guess Autodesk Revit gets away with it and other companies feel they can do the same to its customers. That is what is happening in today’s market until AI plagiarizes the code and writes its own CAD Design software. They are already worried about it happening right now with its power.

You can’t keep your customers happy when you demand more and more money and not giving them enough service in return. ROI (Return On Investment). They will just go away and buy from those who give true value for money. That is just the natural cycle of the market.

The results will speak for themselves !